Belgravia families pledge to sue over the skip that sank
A COUPLE are planning to sue over a gaping 15ft hole yards from their home caused by a skip falling through the road during a basement excavation.
Michael Hue Williams and his wife Ali today vowed to take legal action after Chester Row in Belgravia, where homes sell for more than £5million, was left looking like a "bomb site".
They and other residents are now set to launch a claim against Westminster council for approving plans for excavations to create a cinema and gym below a neighbour's £2.9million property.
They also plan to sue developer Finchatton and contractor The Big Basement Company for alleged negligence. Finchatton has claimed that the road gave way because of a water leak.
The skip, which contained soil, fell through the street into a storage vault in the early hours of Saturday after developers attempted to almost double the size of the house by expanding the basement. Residents fear it could now take many months to fix the huge hole in the road.
The property is near the homes of Margaret Thatcher and Nigella Lawson and her art collector husband Charles Saatchi.
Mr Hue-Williams, 45, an art dealer, lives next door to the house with his doctor wife and their three children.
He said: "These sub-basements are absurd. As neighbours, we will discuss whether to collectively take legal action. We are all bemused as to why Westminster gave permission for this to go ahead when almost everyone in the area objected to it."
Chester Row resident David Littlewood said: "We are in discussion with lawyers about taking co-ordinated legal action against Finchatton and the Big Basement Company for negligence, and Westminster council for approving the planning application, not putting sufficient safeguards in place and failing to supervise the works."
A Finchatton spokesman said structural surveyors were now looking at surrounding properties to see if anything is "untoward".
Rosemarie MacQueen, Westminster council's strategic director for the built environment, said: "This is an isolated incident and we are working with the owners to establish exactly what happened."
